Breadcrumbs

Cape Cod Region

On Cape Cod, the regional partner for the Massachusetts Bays Program is the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC). APCC is a non-profit organization which works to implement the CCMP on Cape Cod. Founded in 1968 by Dr. Herbert Whitlock, the organization's mission is to promote policies and programs that foster the preservation of the natural resources of Cape Cod. APCC's goals are to preserve open space, protect water resources, promote responsible planned growth, and achieve an environmental ethic. Our policies and goals emphasize science-based decision making.

Over four decades, APCC has grown in stature and in numbers and has evolved into Cape Cod's leading environmental advocate. APCC's successes include:

Passage of the Cape Cod Commission Act creating a regional planning agency with both regulatory and planning powers

Passage of the Cape Cod Land Bank Act enabling towns to fund open space protection

Creation of the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative to address the region's wastewater infrastructure needs

Designation of Cape Cod as a Sole Source Aquifer

Cleanup of the Massachusetts Military Reservation

Passage of legislation to create the Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve on 15,000 acres of the Massachusetts Military Reservation

Coordination of a Cape-wide growth management initiative to reduce sprawl in natural resource areas by directing growth to designated town centers

Establishment of the Cape Cod Business Roundtable, brining community leaders together to address regional quality of life issues

Currently APCC has about 5,700 members Cape-wide, making it one of the largest non-profit environmental advocacy organizations on the Cape. APCC's goals as a Massachusetts Bays Program partner will focus on coastal habitat restoration and promoting stormwater management to improve coastal water quality. Our priorities for work are: